HERE’S THE DEAL
Three realistic trades Warriors could make to become West favorite again
Are you ready to rumble?
The NBA is going to officially kick off the fastest offseason in a decade on Monday, when the trade moratorium is officially lifted. This, followed by the NBA draft on Wednesday and free agency starting — well, it’s already started behind the scenes.
It’s going to come fast and furious and the Warriors have a lot of moves to make to reinstall themselves as the favorites in the Western Conference.
What can Golden State do to improve its roster, armed with the No. 2 overall pick in Wednesday’s draft and a $17.2 million trade exception from last season’s Andre Iguodala trade (which expires next week Monday)?
Any of these three trades would represent an upgrade. tIAtI TRAbcS rcLLY OLYNYr TO hOLbcN STATc eOR A ScaONb-ROUNb bRAeT PIar >> This is a salary dump. Plain and simple. Miami is looking to improve after an impressive run to the NBA Finals, and ridding the roster of Olynyk and his $13.6 million contract for the 2021 season is part of that operation.
But, if the Heat, a good team, doen’t want him, why should the Warriors? First off, the Warriors don’t have Bam Adebayo at center. They don’t even have Meyers Leonard, who started plenty of games for Miami last season.
Olynyk is a good player, he’s just down the pecking order for the center-rich Heat and makes too much money to play his role for that team.
The Warriors, though, do not have such a problem. Golden State rotates centers like relief pitchers, mixing and matching based on the opponent’s look or the desired outcome. Marquise Chriss is the rim runner. Kevon Looney is the defender. Alen Smailagic does something on this team — we’ll find out soon enough. And Draymond Green is the closer.
Olynyk, who has shot 37% from beyond the arc the last three seasons for Miami, would fit into that bullpen as an offensive option — a Canadian Mo Speights, if you will.
Golden State is yet to have a center who can knock down a 3-pointer at a reliable clip in the Stephen Curry era — Speights and David West hung out at the elbow — and the possibilities such range would open up are fascinating.
Golden State isn’t going to land some erstwhile star with the $17.2 million Andre Iguodala trade exception. First off, stars make double that kind of money. Second, they’re not coming to the Warriors for next to nothing.
Sure, the Warriors can wait until the last second on Nov. 30, when that exception expires, to see if that’s true, or they can take a solid player who fills a need and immediately expands their offensive offerings.
I’d go with the latter option. And, by the way, the
Warriors would give up next to nothing in the process.
CHARLOTTE TRADES MILES BRIDGES AND THE NO. 3 OVERALL PICK TO GOLDEN STATE FOR KEVON LOONEY AND THE NO. 2 OVERALL PICK >>
The Hornets want James Wiseman in the NBA draft. They want him bad. The Warriors have made it public that they want to take Wiseman with the No. 2 overall pick, should Minnesota pass on the center out of Memphis at No. 1.
Now, I don’t believe the Warriors are actually going to take Wiseman, but they don’t need to convince me — they need to convince Charlotte, drafting just one spot behind them.
And if they can do that, they can extract a young, interesting wing in a move from the Hornets.
Draymond Green will be a big fan of Bridges — he’s a Michigan State Spartan. The Warriors should be interested because he’s athletic, can handle the ball, and has the potential to knock down a shot. Yes, he’s raw and has not shown defensive IQ, but he’s a solid on-ball defender, which presents some hope.
The Hornets are trying to reset a bit. From what, who’s to say?
What I know is that they drafted P. J. Washington last year, bringing in-house competition to Bridges on the wing and there’s talk of them being interested in landing Russell Westbrook in a trade. I don’t think Bridges is untouchable in a trade, even one as minor and tricky as this one.
The Warriors, meanwhile, need wings. As many as they can get. Bridges would be a nice rotation piece at that position.
The Warriors could take No. 3 and move it elsewhere for more rotation pieces.
THREE-TEAM TRADE >> The Clippers, Rockets and Warriors complete a blockbuster three-team trade.
• Rockets receive: Andrew Wiggins, Patrick Beverley, No. 2 overall pick in the draft
• Clippers receive: Russell Westbrook, Robert Covington
• Warriors receive: Paul George, Joakim Noah, Reggie Jackson
The Warriors need a wing, huh? How about adding one of the best wings in the NBA?
It’s clear that the Rockets are going to purge salary before the start of the season. Team owner Tilman Fertitta owes money all over town — he bought the team with $1.42 billion of bonds and needed a $300 million loan recently to keep his restaurant empire afloat. Meanwhile, both James Harden and Russell Westbrook want out, and I can’t see a reason for Fertitta to keep around two of the highest-paid players in the NBA, especially when he might not be allowed to put fans in the stands this season.
I expect Harden to be traded in a separate deal. But this — this is the big one.
The Clippers won’t mind ridding themselves of Paul George after their locker room problems and George’s playoff woes last year. They add a true point guard — something they’re missing — and an L. A. native to the fold in Westbrook and the addition of Covington on the wing lessens the blow of losing George.
The Rockets get under the tax line (pending a Harden trade), can add a player like LaMelo Ball via the draft to jump-start a rebuild, add a promising wing to the rotation in Wiggins, and return a fan favorite to Houston to lessen the blow of this blowup.
And the Warriors add George, who might just slide perfectly into a thirdman role with Golden State.
That said, Steve Kerr might be most excited about the addition of Joakim Noah in this trade.